How Long is Forever
by Santamadre
Summary: As the light of the vortex disappeared, taking Starfire away once again, the Titans turned to stare uneasily at each other. Happy and bitter memories replayed on their minds and, for a moment, it was tempting to give in to sorrow and resentment, to say their good-byes and disappear from the world once again. A temptation soon quenched by a desperate need to forgive and forget…


Okay, so I borrowed this story from Demonsofdoom, cause she ain't working on it anymore :D. Follows the events after Starfire leaves the Future Titans. I'm planning on slowly moving it to Injustice Among Us Universe, but I don't know much about other DC characters. If someone likes the idea, just send me a PM and we can work on it together.

First three chapts are mostly a re-write…just to add my own style to it =P But after third chapt. I've got brand new material X-) Yey!

Please, let me know what you think!

Kuddos!

* * *

As the light of the vortex disappeared and the baby Warp dozed off, the Titans turned to stare uneasily at each other. Happy and bitter memories replayed on their minds and, for a moment, it was tempting to give in to sorrow and resentment, to say their good-byes and disappear from the world once again. A temptation soon quenched by a desperate need to forgive and forget…

Beast Boy placed a hand on Cyborg's arm, a smile brightening his melancholic face.

"Dude…"

"Hey, man…" Cyborg answered with a smile of his own, placing a heavy hand on Beast Boy's bald green head. "'s being some time."

"Some lots of time." Nightwing added. He wasn't smiling. If not for their distinctive physical alterations, it'd have been almost impossible to recognize his old team mates. Only a few years had passed but it seemed a lifetime of sorrows had eaten them away. "I've been working solo since we slipped up."

"Heh…I kinda tried too…." Beast Boy grimaced, his sad eyes fixing on the ground. He knelt to pick Warp up and held him close to his broad belly. "What're we gonna do with him?"

"We will take him to the Police Station. Social Services will know what to do…" They nodded and shuffled to the door. Outside, Nightwing turned to regard each of them gravely. "I don't think we should disregard Starfire's return; as temporary as it was. As much as it pains me to admit…I cannot protect the city alone…I could use a team."

The idea of reforming the Titans was enough to make him smile, a gesture Beast Boy automatically returned.

"Sure...Criminals of Jump City, beware!" He proclaimed, straightening and shifting the sleeping baby on his arms. "The Out of Shape Titans're coming fer ya!"

"That name sucks." Cyborg grumbled. "How about just the Not Teens AnymoreTitans?"

"That sucks more, dude."

* * *

Raven and Beast Boy hadn't seen the tower in a very long time. It was definitely in ruins. The windows were broken, parts of the wall had crumbled and the smell of rusted iron and humidity was unbearable. She didn't want to go inside and he stayed to keep her company; a decision he regretted the second Nightwing and Cyborg walked into the Tower and left them both alone in the dark gloomy outside.

While most humans relied on sight and touch to make sense of the world around them, Beast Boy's shift-shifting abilities had allowed him to appreciate the value of other senses: smell, sounds and that so called sixth-sense; a silent feeling in the back of someone's mind that warmed of the dangerous things the rational mind could not fully understand.

Raven was one of those things. She stood near the water, gazing at the City in absolute silence. The freezing wind threatened at times to move his bulk but it wasn't strong enough to snap her out of whatever dream she had submerged into. She was like a ghost, an evil apparition waiting for a victim to devour. Beast Boy hated to think of Raven like that; he hated being afraid of her. The things she had done weren't her fault.

Guilt overcame fright; all the things he should have done to prevent it; easy things he never did. Like being there for her; like being man enough not to be scared, not to shun her away…

Beast Boy ignored the voice urging him to join the others inside the Tower. He endured his fears and the freezing wind until Raven turned away from the sea and shuffled through the snow to join him. They walked together inside.

* * *

The T-Car roared to life, lightening the room with its blue glow. It was the only thing that functioned properly in the Tower; the only thing he had worked on for almost a decade. That choking feeling of inferiority he felt around Nightwing diminished to tolerable levels inside that comfy powerful vehicle…

"You should consider using the car's parts to fix your own systems." Nightwing said. Cyborg's incipient contentment died out like the flickering flame of a candle. "I've got a good car and I'd rather have you upgraded."

He wanted to be offended but it was a sober request. With the adrenaline of the fight gone, he could feel the metal biting on his flesh; all the dead weight of fake limbs hanging from maimed muscles. He felt stupid for investing so much time and resources on the T-char. He looked at Nightwing and wondered bitterly when he had lost sight of what was important. When had he given up; on himself, on Jump City, on his friends?

When fixing his body became harder and harder each passing year. When it was made evident he wouldn't last much longer. ..

He was a cyborg but his mind was mostly human. Although his body couldn't be fixed entirely, he could still think, learn and work. He could move out of that abandoned building, to upgrade Nightwing's car, weaponry and security systems…Maybe that was all he would be able to do in the long run for the team, for the City.

And Nightwing probably knew it.

"You don't know squat 'bout cars."

The comment made Nightwing smile. Feeling much better, Cyborg stepped on the accelerator and drove out of Titan's Tower for, what he hoped, would be the last time.

* * *

The T-Car glided through desolated streets. The heavy silence was sporadically interrupted by the same sad cacophony: a shooting, sirens and the howling of distressed dogs. Without protection, Jump City had become a dangerous place. People were afraid to come out at night and those that did usually didn't make it back home.

Nightwing hated this city. He hated what it had become. He felt responsible for it. How many lives would have been saved if the Titans had stayed together? How many criminals would be in jail instead of wandering his streets freely? They had conquered this place, made it their own sick paradise…

But soon things would hopefully change. The Titans were together again….sorta.

"So, do you need to pick anything up from…your places?" He asked, looking at Beast Boy and Raven in the rear-view mirror. They sat at opposite ends; each huddled as far away from each other as possible.

She shook her head no.

"Yeah, me neither…" Beast Boy said, looking back at him. He fingered his scalp, eyeing his head full of hair with envious eyes. "…so… what shampoo're you using?"

"I'm NOT using flee-poison, Beast Boy."

"Told ya that garbage was gonna burn your hair."

"Yeah…" A self-deprecating laugh. "…should've listened."

"We all should have listened more."

The unexpected sound of Raven's soft voice submerged them into an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. It was broken by a clumsy ready agreement of all three of them, some nervous laughter and a new topic of conversation:

"So, you think it will ever stop snowing!?"

* * *

"You wasted no time, uh?"

"Time is too precious to be wasted, Cyborg."

Nightwing stated firmly as he led them through a long dark corridor. The lights came to life and died again as they moved through. It was cold and every sound they made bounced against the smooth walls as a metallic hollow echo. Their new home was a far cry from what Titan's Tower had once been.

They finally reached the main room: a huge heartless room barely lightened by the screen of a giant computer screen. Other machines beeped and buzzed in every wall. A Robin costume was perched in the center, protected by fiber glass; an adornment that served not as a visual distraction but as a constant reminder of the past.

"I know it's not very hommy." Nightwing said. "But it's for the best. There's a lot of work to do."

"Kinda miss my cage." Beast Boy murmured then quickly corrected himself. "Well, 'cage', right? Kind of a backstage, really…"

"You were a freak in a cage, Beast Boy." Cyborg grumbled. He had switched off his lights after the fight to save energy; all that could be seen clearly of him in that dark room was his red glowing eye. "And I'm starting to feel like a burnt up toaster in a Microsoft-display…I need to re-charge…"

Nightwing pressed a button in the wall and two panels slid open, revealing the circuits hiding underneath the iron. Cyborg approached and examined the high-tech outlet before him. It looked suspiciously…appropriate. He straightened to glare at Nightwing. The bastard was smiling.

"I'm always prepared. In the event you guys decided to start again and needed a hand. It's been designed and installed by your father, Cyborg…" The smile disappeared. "You should talk to him. He could help you."

"I can help myself..." He was tempted to walk out and recharge using the T-Car but the incessant throbbing of old wounds stopped him. Was he still a child? Hadn't he tasted the bitter consequences of putting pride before friendship? With a heavy sigh, he nodded his thanks. "I'll think 'bout it. Now, I gotta recharge. I'll be out for a couple of hours."

"Sleep tight…"

"Yeah…you too."

A button was pressed and two long cords emerged from the panel. They fit perfectly to his connectors. As the energy flooded into him, awareness slipped and his body slumped slightly forward. The red cybernetic eye flickered one last time; his human eye glazed over. His inactive body hummed softly as electricity sizzled through its circuits.

"We should all get some rest." Nightwing stated. "I just have one bed. Raven can use it. You and I will sleep on the floor."

"I do not need a bed." Raven said as she walked to a secluded corner in the room, there where the light did not touch. Her body was swallowed by the impenetrable darkness and her soft steps were heard no more.

"Yeah…neat…" Beast Boy said with a shudder. "I don't need a bed either." His body changed and shifted. Nightwing found himself in the company of a small green cat."I can use the chair." It said before leaping in the lone chair near the computer. The green feline purred as it curled into a small tight bundle. "Ain't I the cutest thing?"

"I'm still straight, Beast Boy, I'm sorry."

"Hey, dude! Me too!"

It was a pleasant surprise hearing him speak in animal form. At least, there was one thing he had improved at. Nightwing glanced at Cyborg and then at the dark corner where Raven had disappeared into. All they needed was time, some work, and new Titans would be formed. Jump City would be safe again…

* * *

Nightwing couldn't sleep. There were too many things in his head and in the calm silence that preceded sleep, all the emotions stirred by Starfire's sudden appearance started bawling and twisting without restraint; the pain of her loss, the anger and resentment that had poisoned his relationship with the others after years of fighting; he had learnt to deal with all that, he had learnt to forgive…

Then why did sleep evade him?

His troubled mind sought anything to latch into; any distraction to spare it further anguish. It quickly picked up on two different hums: Cyborg's feeding circuits and something unidentified. He sat on his cot. The impenetrable darkness of a corner was maimed by two white lights: Raven was awake and she was talking; words that were not meant to be heard by other ears. He had forgotten about that habit of hers, one she had picked after Azarath's destruction…

He rose to his feet. The sudden movement seemed to startle her. The glowing eyes disappeared and all he could see was darkness again.

"Raven? Can't sleep, want something to eat? A tea?...Raven?"

There was no answer, no movement. She may not be there anymore. It angered him to be too scared to step into the shadows, to feel so repelled by someone who had once been his friend.

"You too, huh?" Startled, he turned around. Beast Boy, in all his fat bald-headed glory, stood near the chair, scratching himself behind a pointed ear. His stomach growled fiercely. "Damn…we should've eaten before going to bed."

"It's not too early. Maybe we could have breakfast."

"…sounds awesome."

* * *

Cyborg stirred. His circuits went back on line. His battery was recharged. As his awareness returned, he felt the pain first, then the nausea and that burning sensation on the pit of his stomach. It always happened after a burst of raw energy. Before he opened his eyes, his nose caught a scent; an aroma he had not smelt in years. It brought a torrent of heart-warming memories that deadened any physical discomfort.

His human eye opened; the cybernetic glowed to life. There was a small table in the middle of the room. A cone of white light washed over it, illuminating plates saddled with fried eggs and glasses filled with orange juice. A mountain of waffles stood proudly on the center….It looked like an odd-but perfect-piece of art proudly displayed in a fancy museum.

Was he sleeping? No. It smelled all too real.

"Morning." Nightwing said, stepping into his camp of sight with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand. "Coffee, tea, juice…?"

Beast Boy sat on a chair and gestured at all the food with a broad fanged smile.

"Breakfast's served!"

"…I hope those eggs ain't that tofu crap…"

"Nah, Nightwing didn't have any. But don't worry, I'll get some later."

They smiled almost shyly at each other, embarrassed by the strong emotions dancing in their chests. Nightwing finally set his cup on the table and faced a corner submerged in darkness.

"I bet you're hungry. Would you care to join us?"

There was no answer and, for a moment, he was afraid Raven had left for good but then a white figure slowly emerged from its dark refugee. She stepped into the light and removed her hood, staring in disbelief at the table.

"Waffles?"

"A favorite!" Beast Boy proclaimed. A bit tentatively, he approached her to grab her hand and led her to the table. "I'm starving too."

They ate mostly in silence but, for the first time in years, they enjoyed each other's company.


End file.
